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Flight of the (Canadian) Snowbirds

Mexico is luring Canadians southward with an affordable lifestyle, low property taxes, and top-notch medical care but there are also dangers lurking in the wings.

Photo Credit: The Providence

Original Article Text From The Providence:

Affordable lifestyle luring more Canadians to Mexico — where dangers also lie in wait

Elaine Duke looks up from her computer and risks a glance at the ocean off the Mexican city of Mazatlan as she sips her morning coffee.

The world trembles at her feet in white, green and blue. The beach shines like a movie star’s smile, Emerald Bay glitters and small clouds dapple the blue sky.

Many Canadians gazing at that vista would never get back to work. But Duke doesn’t mind returning her attention to her laptop because she has more time than do two-week tourists.

Duke spends up to six months a year in Mazatlan. The three-bedroom house she bought there seven years ago sits 20 feet from the ocean’s edge. When she’s not doing her work as a mortgage broker, she can fish from her deck.

“What makes Mexico really attractive is the cost of living,” says Duke, who’s from Nanoose Bay. “My property taxes here are $300 a year. In Canada, they’d be $6,000. People can live a life here that they can’t anywhere else.”

FLIGHT OF THE SNOWBIRDS
As winter tightens its grip in the north, the annual migration of snowbirds like Duke is gathering force. British Columbians in search of sun, sand and wonderful food are landing in the homes they’ve bought or rented across Latin America, from Mexico to Panama.

“They’re arriving every day now,” says Vancouver Island’s Michael Murphy, 60, from his home away from home in Bucerias on Mexico’s west coast.

“The long-term ones come down around the beginning of November and stay right through to the end of April, pretty much.”

Last year, 1,598,000 Canadians visited Mexico, up from 692,000 in 2000, according to Statistics Canada. Canadians account for about a third of all foreign retirees in Mexico, according to the Mexico Tourism Board.

Canada’s department of foreign affairs estimates about 125,000 Canadians live at least part of the year in Mexico and other Latin American countries. British Columbians picking up ­property in Mexico range from young oilsands workers looking to party to retired boomers seeking warm serenity.

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
Most people seeking to retire to Mexico or to remain there for extended periods face a series of challenges: quality health care, medical insurance, foreign ownership laws and getting approval to work.

But perhaps the biggest worry for Canadian expats and snowbirds in Latin ­America is their personal safety.

Several B.C. residents have met violent ends in Mexico and Belize recently.

In October, Vancouver area resident Patricia Lynn Nichiporowich, 57, was stabbed to death in Consejo Shores, an oceanfront community in Belize.

In May, Lynne Earle, 60, a retired West Vancouver police officer, was stabbed to death in Playa del Carmen, just south of Cancun.

In May 2012, Courtenay retiree Ron Mackintosh was murdered in Barra de Navidad on Mexico’s west coast. His body had reportedly been tied to a tree.

Salt Spring Island resident ­Robin Wood was shot dead during an invasion of a friend’s home in Melaque, south of Puerto Vallarta, in January 2012.

Days before Wood’s death, the bodies of 39-year-old ­University of B.C. student Carmen ­Ximena Osegueda and her boyfriend, 38-year-old Alejandro Honorio Santamaria, were found partly buried on a beach in Huatulco, south of Acapulco.

Whenever a British Columbian is murdered in Mexico, concerns are raised about whether Canadians should even go near the country, let alone live there full- or part-time.

Julia Taylor, an author and former resident of Mexico now living in Victoria, says Canadians should avoid relocating to Mexico at this time.

“I am sad I have to write this about such a wonderful, rich, vibrant country but now is not the best time to move to ­Mexico,” Taylor advises near the end of Mexico: The Trick Is Living Here, her newly updated guide to life in the country.

“When I speak on Skype with family and friends in Mexico, I can see in their faces that the fear of violence is real and stressful. If you can, stay in the U.S. or ­Canada.”

Taylor, 39, qualifies this recommendation in an interview, stressing that crime rates vary sharply from community to community in Mexico. Nor should Canadians or Americans let concerns about drug-cartel violence keep them from exploring the country, she says.

“There are plenty of safe ­places in Mexico,” she says. “Don’t let it (gang violence) keep you from going — but it should ­definitely enter into your plans. You need to be cautious and build a ­network.”

JOINING THE COMMUNITY
One of the biggest mistakes that inexperienced snowbirds and retirees make is to assume they’re simply moving into a Spanish-speaking version of Canadian society, Taylor says.

These are the people who don’t realize how important it is to interact with Mexicans and to build a network, Taylor says. People who don’t listen to Mexicans’ cautionary cues and hints — or lack enough skill in Spanish to understand — may be getting into trouble and not even know it, she says.

They may not realize that networks themselves can cause trouble for those unwise enough to flaunt their money, leading people in the network to comment on their wealth to others.

“If you hear a lot of talk about scary stuff happening, maybe this is not the right place for you to be,” she says. “The locals will know.”

HSBC Bank International released a survey of global expats in October in which 76 per cent of expats in Mexico say they are integrating well with the local community.

“Over half (56 per cent) of expats agree that the country is becoming a better place for an expat to live, compared with 32 per cent globally,” HSBC says.

Foreign affairs urges Canadians to “exercise a high degree of caution” in Mexico but has not issued a nationwide ­advisory. The department’s guidance ramps up to “extreme caution” for people travelling outside of urban centres.

“High levels of criminal activity, as well as occasional illegal roadblocks, demonstrations and protests remain a concern throughout the country,” foreign affairs says on its website.

“Crime rates in Mexico are high. Arrest and detention rates are low and contribute to high levels of criminality.”

Simon Fraser University political science professor Andy Hira says drug-related gang violence in Mexico has been spilling from the north to the southern states favoured by visitors. The narco gangs are not targeting visitors, but Canadians or Americans can be hurt or killed if they happen to be in the wrong public space at the wrong time, Hira says.

Mexico’s federal government has ­decided to dial down its war on narco gangs a notch but until gangs’ territorial claims are resolved, violence will continue, says Hira, who’s an expert on Latin America.

Random crime — robbery, home invasions, kidnapping — does not respect north-south boundaries or foreigners who are careless enough to be out late at night or wandering through places without the security of crowds, Hira says.

Another challenge in Mexico is police corruption. Small bribes to cops — known to Mexicans as la mordita, or “the small bite” — are almost routine business for locals but can be perilously ambiguous for visitors, Hira says.

“They can be dangerous transactions because the payment hasn’t already been worked out. A cop may try to shake you down for even more,” Hira says. “If you refuse to pay, he may put you in jail on trumped up charges.”

EMBRACE THE LAID-BACK LIFESTYLE
Salt Spring Island resident Pauline Doucette, who heads down to Melaque for about three months a year, has noticed a rise in crime in her Mexican town. She rents a bungalow away from the tourist area in a working-class Mexican neighbourhood among people she describes as “wonderful.”

Doucette, who’s in her mid 60s, says crime has risen in Melaque as outsiders who lost everything when Hurricane Jova struck two years ago have been forced to move into town to seek work.

Being polite among a people for whom courtesy is critical is one of the best ways for long-term residents to ensure personal safety, she says.

“I feel safe,” Doucette says. “It used to feel a lot safer.”

Taylor says the expats and long-term residents who best adjust to Mexico are those who avoid complaining and judging. They also acquire the skill of uttering “positive untruths” — of not saying “no” directly, she says.

“Try not to be controlling,” Taylor says. “We think we control stuff up here. You live in Mexico and realize you’re not in charge.”

MAKING A REAL ESTATE MOVE
Murphy, who sells Mexican real estate to mainly Canadian buyers, says this is a good time to consider retiring to Mexico. House prices have bottomed out, he says, having tumbled some 30 per cent from their pre-recession levels.

Demand for Mexican homes by retiring British Columbian boomers is on the rise. Had it not been for their persistent ­interest over the past five years, the market would have been down even more, Murphy says.

People need to make repeated visits to Mexico to learn its language and culture before retiring there, he cautions.

“Don’t necessarily buy right away. Rent for a year to make sure it’s going to be right for you.”

Duke says poor Mexicans don’t show the kind of anger that she has seen among impoverished people in Jamaica. She makes a point of being friendly but is cautious about whom she befriends.

And when the train heading for the U.S. goes by her house three times a day, she keeps a low profile. Some of those riding on top are penniless immigrants from Honduras or Guatemala who want to sneak into the U.S. They may not have eaten for days.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she says. “I’m very careful with that. If they see you, they might just jump off the train.”

Health care considerations for British Columbians living abroad
B.C. snowbirds heading south this winter will be able to live outside the province for an extra month before losing their coverage under the province’s medical services plan.

Last spring, the provincial government extended the length of time that B.C. residents could stay out of province and still be covered by MSP from six months to seven months.

The government estimates that 144,000 snowbirds split their time between B.C. and a foreign destination.

MSP may not cover all of the medical costs a B.C. resident incurs abroad. The government ­advises B.C. residents travelling out of province to buy extra medical insurance from a private insurer.

Foreigners in Mexico who need medical treatment can pay private doctors there cash for medical visits, says Julia Taylor, a former Mexican resident and author of Mexico: The Trick is Living Here.

Those uncomfortable with the risk of paying out-of-pocket can opt for a private health insurance plan to cover them in case of unforeseen, large expenses, Taylor says.

The best way to find an appropriate private doctor in Mexico is through referrals from Mexicans, snowbirds or expats, she says.

“When living in Mexico it is important that you be able to choose and manage your health care options because the public health care system is not of high quality … while there are excellent private options available,” Taylor says.

Pros and cons of becoming a non-resident Canadian
Canadians who want to move to Mexico or to any other country need to carefully consider the pros and cons of becoming non-­residents of Canada, says author Julia Taylor, who used to live in Mexico.

Taylor advises Canadians to get professional advice before deciding whether to maintain their Canadian residence status.

“While for some Canadians it is financially beneficial to give up their status as a resident — mostly due to savings in taxes — for others it is actually beneficial to keep their status as a Canadian resident,” says the author of Mexico: The Trick Is Living Here.

Factors to consider include:
Health care: When Canadians give up their residential ties they give up access to Canada’s health care system. “They should look into whether tax savings will offset the costs of private health care in Mexico,” says Taylor.

Financial services: Canadians living abroad will experience changes to their banking and financial services, Taylor says. “Many financial institutions will not offer non-resident Canadians the same service as resident Canadians due to the complexity of the situation,” she warns.

Citizenship: Canadian citizens are not obliged to resign their citizenship to live abroad. If Canadians do give up their citizenship, they become permanent residents of Canada. To keep that status, they must spend two years out of every five in Canada, according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada.